What's Your Angle?

WHO: Squares and lines from Sportmax, Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton, Cushnie et Ochs talent for framing the body’s angles and curves and Balmain’s graphic harlequin prints and major shoulder pads for Spring 2013, as well as the Pre-Fall presentations of Givenchy, which was all sharp angles mixed with geometric patch-working and color-blocking, and Marni’s strict, angular silhouettes, contributed to the feeling that angles are having a moment in fashion.

WHAT: Forget basic rounds and rectangles, sunwear of late is much more multifaceted thanks to some serious application of geometry in the shaping of the frame fronts. Angles, bevels and strong, unusual shapes are providing the perfect foil to the season’s structured fashions.

WEAR:(Top to bottom) The l.a. Eyeworks Picnic is all angles thanks to its flat base curve and decahedron lens shape. The Vera Wang Emi Li from the Kenmark Group has a lot going on thanks to its milled triple laminated front, metal bridge detail and dark tortoise temples, not the least of which, of course, is its unique angular front. The Karl Lagerfeld KL80S from Marchon takes a classic oversized Jackie O-inspired style and sharpens it with a more hexagonal shape. Not quite square, certainly not round, the Marc Jacobs MJ 486/S from Safilo offers both angles and bevels in its chunky oversized front.
WHY: Rounds feel very retro and rectangles a bit staid, so more geometric shapes feel just the right amount of out-of-the-ordinary. More often associated with decor and interior design, these simple shapes are being incorporated into a wide variety of fashion accessories making them feel fresh and modern. Since sunwear doesn’t have the same multiple pair barriers as ophthalmic frames seem to, getting patients to supplement their more traditional sunglasses with a new angular update is likely an easier sale.